“All yours.” As soon as my hands were free, I shoved them into my pockets, dragging my gaze anywhere but her.
That was when I noticed the line of mason jars running the length of the counter, each filled with…water and flower petals?
“What are all these?” I bent and squinted.
“Oh.” She paused, having just popped open the box. “I’m just…it’s an experiment.”
Looking at her, I lifted an eyebrow.
“I’m making perfume.” She licked her lips. “It’s vodka and different flowers. The alcohol pulls out the scent. It takes a few weeks, but then I’ll strain them, and it’ll be perfume.”
I picked up the closest one, turning it as she dug into the dessert like it was the first meal she’d had all day. And there it was. The throaty moan, the flutter shut of her eyes, and the sultry tip of her head as she savored that first bite. “Oh my god, Max, this is so good,” she purred, and the sound burrowed straight to my dick.
Gritting my teeth, I shifted my weight, trying to ease the strain of the fabric over my groin. The last thing I needed was for her to notice how her enjoyment affected my cock. That definitely wouldn’t help the situation right now.
“I thought you’d like it,” I said and roughly cleared my throat, staring into the jar like the alcohol could wipe the sound frommy brain too. Rose petals.And was that hypericum?I tipped the glass. “Daisy, these flowers…they’re all from one of our fall arrangements.”
A few seconds passed without an answer, and when I looked at her, she gulped and then sent her tongue darting out over her lips.
“Yes.” A blush rose to her cheeks. “I was talking to Erica, telling her how I made peony perfume using my bouquet and that the blend of the fall flowers would smell nice. If it comes out good, she said it would be a great add-on offer for your customers. Small batch perfume.”
Flowers and perfume.
I stared at her, the idea exploding in my mind. Why hadn’t I thought of it before? We’d done so many other options—chocolate, Frankie’s candles, for spring last year, we even did some jams. But perfume…custom blended to match the arrangements…
“You don’t have to if you don’t want?—”
“No.” I shook my head roughly, replacing the mason jar back into its position. “No, it’s a great idea, Daze. You’re incredible…your idea is incredible.” I fumbled over the words. Her idea was brilliant, but hearing—seeing—how she’d thought of me and my business when her world was crumbling at the seams. Damn, if that wasn’t enough to bring me to my knees…
Problem solved.
I sucked in a breath. Dammit, Nox.
“I’m glad to be able to do something for you after everything you’ve done for me,” she said, her flush deepening, and I couldn’t hold back my groan.
There were a few other things she could do for me—take off my shirt, spread her legs, let me eat my own dessert—but nothing business-related.
From the outside world, I imagined how this must look. Daisy in my apartment, working with me, bouncing ideas off me for my business. Wearing my shirt. Eating the dessert I brought her. Pregnant.Mine.From the outside world, it would look like she was mine.
Problem solved.
I shook off the thought and forced myself to figure out a way to be helpful. Unfortunately, that meant asking questions that would lower the slight lift to her spirits. I didn’t want to bring it up again—god, it was the last thing I wanted to do—but I had to.
“Daisy, did his mom say she’d heard from him?”
Daisy paused mid-chew, looked at me, and then finished her bite with a slow swallow. “No. I mean, not that she mentioned. Though I can’t say I heard the very end of the voicemail, because when she mentioned lawyers and…all that…I dropped my phone into the tub.”
“Got it.”
“He’s not coming back, Max.”
My heart crashed against my ribs. “If he did…if he knew what his mom was saying?—”
Her cornflower-blue stare found mine. “Even if he did and even if he knew, I wouldn’t…I couldn’t marry him now.”
I stilled, the words like an audible unicorn.
“As horrible as this is right now, Max, as scared as I am, I won’t go back to that. To him. Not even for health insurance.”
